


Hiding in plain sight

by Badpunsandaparka (Seven_Oomen)



Series: Coldflash Tumblr prompts [6]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, M/M, coldflash - Freeform, mob boss Len
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-14 12:30:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5743924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seven_Oomen/pseuds/Badpunsandaparka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After years of traveling Leonard Snart returns to Central City to set up his own criminal empire but the master criminal is brought down before he can fully rise. Four months after his arrival, Len's safe house is burned down to the ground and he's forced to set up a new base. He forms a plan to assume a new identity and starts anew. Enter Barry Allen, a young member of the CCPD who just woke up from a coma. With Barry as his roommate Len has found himself the perfect smoke screen to hide behind. But things don't always go as planned...</p><p>Tags and warnings will be updated as story progresses to avoid story spoilers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hiding in plain sight

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this story was inspired by Tumblr prompts and was build on from there on out, I love writing about these dorks and it's just so much fun to watch them interact. I hope you guys enjoy this story as much as I do. And I hope my writing makes sense, as English isn't my native language. I don't have a Beta, though I do use spellcheck and check for grammar mistakes before posting. I may have missed some mistakes. If you spot them, please point them out to me.

Smoke, the smell of wood burning and the scorching heat that the fire radiated were things he would never forget. Santini and his little band of dimwitted idiots were gonna pay for this. For the last four months the burning building in front of him had been his home. Now it was just another safe house that had gone to the dogs. But it did send a clear message, he had to give them that. They were on his tail, ready to take him out of the equation that was Central City’s organized crime ring. Not that he was going to be that easy to take out. But perhaps it would be a smart move to lay low for a while.

Not that any of this was entirely his own fault. If Santini hadn’t tried to foil his little deals with the Derales brothers, then he wouldn’t have had to destroy their little back alley weapons cache. A shame really, considering he really could have used those weapons to his advantage. But he had to keep Mick happy and the pyromaniac needed to burn something down to the ground. At least he killed two birds with one stone this way. Frank Santini hadn’t been happy with his little round of destruction and had sworn revenge. Hence why he was standing out in the cold watching his safe house burn down to the ground.

Goddammit, he really liked this particular place. It hadn’t been anything fancy, but it had been comfortable and remote enough not to be disturbed. Or so he had thought… Apparently he needed to be more careful when it comes to setting up his safe houses. Another lesson learned the hard way, which was the best way to learn anything at all, really.

The sound of a revving engine and screeching tires rounding the corner of the street drew his attention away from the flames and onto the car coming his way. Dark, sleek, high end and with a lot of horse power hidden under the hood, it was the kind of vehicle Len usually stole from rich prissy boys. And it was coming right at him at a high speed. Wasn’t that just fucking peachy. His hand automatically went to the gun holstered on his leg and raised the weapon from its holster, ready to fire at any second.

The car was almost at him. He clicked the safety off the gun, finger going to the trigger. Breathing in and out as he focused on the windshield to take the driver out. The car swerved a little, pulling hard to the right at the very last second. He stepped back in a reflex, gun still at the ready as the car door on the passengers side swung open. He relaxed at the familiar looking face of the driver and Len let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

“Hello Sis.” Len smirked and lowered the gun at the sight of his little sister, putting the gun back in its holster before getting in the vehicle. He should’ve known Lise would come to get his ass out of trouble. She always did, sooner or later. And judging by the driving skills it couldn’t have been anyone else. And that wasn’t exactly a compliment. A soft grunt from behind him alerted him to a presence on the backseat. He knew who that was without looking over his shoulder.

“Mick.”

“Heard you couldn’t take the heat.”

Mick sounded rather amused and if the circumstances were any different he would’ve laughed at the man’s joke. He wasn’t really in the mood for such theatrics right now, though.

“I can take the heat just fine, Mick. It’s Santini who needs to chill out.” Len drawled, chuckling at the little growl that escaped Lisa’s throat.

“Fuck no.”

“Something wrong, sis?”

“You two and your god awful puns is what’s wrong.”

Len gripped the edge of his seat as the car swerved to the left. She’d done that on purpose, as much as he joked about his sister’s driving skills she was actually an excellent driver. Right now she was just trying to crawl under his skin, a form of payback for his puns. Kinda childish in his opinion. “Still not as bad as your driving skills.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Lenny. My driving skills are awesome. Right Mick?”

“Stayin’ out of this one.” Mick mumbled and Len couldn’t help but chuckle. He might have shitty day so far and his life had been jostled a little. But it was good to know that some things just wouldn’t change.

***********

Apartment shopping had to be the worst hell imaginable. If it wasn’t the downright horrendous conditions of the apartments themselves, it was the god awful and annoying real estate agents he had to deal with. Had they no sense of dignity or self respect at all? As far as he could tell they probably hadn’t, judging by the way they threw themselves at him just to sell that one condo or apartment to him. It was downright despicable.

“And here we have a spacious living room with adjoining kitchen, which can be refitted to an open kitchen with a breakfast bar, should you wish to do so. And-”

He looked around in mild disinterest while the woman rambled away, sneering in disgust when a cockroach crawled out of a crack in the tiles and found its way into one of the counter cabinets. This had to be one of the worst places he’d seen so far. Granted, he had told the real estate agent that he didn’t have much money to spare and was looking for something inconspicuous, but that didn’t mean he wanted to live in a dump. Which pretty much described this apartment to a T. There were cracks in the floor, mold spots on the bathroom ceiling and aside from that cockroach he could’ve sworn he saw a rat scatter away into the wall in the master bedroom. This definitely wouldn’t do.

“I’ve seen enough of this dump and I will take my business elsewhere if you can’t give me what I’m looking for.” He didn’t particularly care that he had interrupted the startled agent, nor did he care much for the panicked look on her face. As long as she did her job she had nothing to fear from him, not at the moment anyway.

“I- well, sir your budget isn’t really sufficient-”

“In that case, I bid you a good day.” Len drawled, fighting the feeling of disappointment as he turned around and walked out of the apartment without looking back. He’d been confident that this agent could’ve helped him out, considering he’d tried most others already. Finding a place in central city couldn’t possibly be this hard, even with a minimum budget there had to be some kind of place that met his needs. Not that he needed to keep to the budget, but he didn’t want to lose more money in case the Santini’s found him again. Besides, it didn’t need to be spacious or modern, clean and in a good condition would do just fine. He was nearly out the door when the agent came running after him.

“Wait! Sir, please I beg of you. Give me one more chance.” The woman had tears in her eyes as she turned to him, her voice quivering as she begged him to stay. Whatever this was, it was important to her and it intrigued him. He’d give her one last chance just to see what she’d come up with next. She might even surprise him.

“And why would I do that?”

“Because I know an apartment that will meet the criteria.” She fidgeted a little, wringing her hands and avoiding eye contact as if she were embarrassed of her own words. But why? It was a mystery to him, a puzzle and he wanted to solve it.

“Do you now…” Len leaned against the doorway and waited.

“Yes, sir. It just came on the market two days ago. Please, just look at it. If I don’t sell a property this week I’ll be fired. I’ve a son to feed.”

It was hardly his problem what this woman could or couldn’t do. And he had no obligation to aid her, whatsoever. But he remembered what it was like to go hungry as a child. The long nights of living with a rumbling stomach and blinding pains in his abdomen. And a part of him couldn’t really inflict that kind of pain on anyone else. He sighed softly and silently cursed the soft spot in his heart, he really should stop caring about random kids. He was a cold hearted criminal for Christ’s sake…

“Fine.”

********

He really shouldn’t have come. Sure the building actually looked clean and well kept and the neighborhood was quiet, despite its location and general ambiance. He’d seen at least three gangs hanging out on the streets on his way to the apartment, but that didn’t even really bother him that much. If he could get them to bind together and fight for him, he could turn this place into a stronghold. But despite its positive characteristics, it wasn’t exactly what he’d been looking for. And he was tempted to call off the sighting before even setting foot inside the place.

He got out of the car and let out a sigh before straightening his jacket. It was now or never and he’d made the agent a promise that he’d at least look at the place. And really, it wasn’t like it could hurt or backfire on him. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Might as well make the most of it. The real estate agent lead the way to the building, pausing briefly to cheerfully greet an old man -who was raking some fallen leaves from his lawn-, and gestured for him to follow.

“Good morning, Mr. Siegbert. How are you today?”

“Hello Amanda. Who’s this handsome young man?” The old man’s gaze roamed over his body, and to be honest it gave him the chills. Though he had no idea why. The old man had something familiar about him, as if he’d seen or known this guy before. He hadn’t though, maybe that was why it creeped him out when those blue eyes focused on his. He resisted the urge to run far away from here and kept his ground.

“Oh!” The real estate agent turned to Leonard. “This is Mr. Smith, here’s here for apartment forty two B.”

“Really? Well, I hope you like it, young man. It’s a fine apartment to live in, I used to drink tea with the former owner every Wednesday. He kept the place spotless, I’m sure it’s to your liking.”

“We’ll see.” Len drawled, pausing for a minute as he studied the old man. So familiar, and yet totally unknown. Another puzzle he could solve, another secret to discover. Maybe this neighborhood would be far more interesting than he’d originally thought.

“Thank you, Michael. Now if you’ll excuse us, I’ll show Mr. Smith the apartment.” Amanda gestured for Leonard to follow her into the building and lead the way.

“Be seeing you.” He gave a polite nod towards the old man and followed the agent, Amanda, to the elevator.

The building itself gave off a good impression so far, weird neighbors aside. It was clean, well kept and the only downside, which really wasn’t a downside for him, was the neighborhood. He could see himself hiding and thriving around here. Maybe the agent wasn’t that bad at her job after all.

She led him into the apartment and started rattling off once more, though he tuned her out on most fronts so he could have a look around himself. The place was spacious with three moderate sized bedrooms, one bathroom and a living room with an open kitchen. The view wasn’t spectacular and showcased the neighborhood a little too well, judging by the pool of blood he could see in the nearby alleyway. Still, it was much better than anything else he’d seen.

He bought the place within five minutes, much to the surprise of the agent. It wasn’t his ideal apartment, no. But if he thought this through, he could see it could become just that. It was within budget and if he could find the right person to share it with, it might just be an excellent safe house for him to lay low in. Now all he had to do was find a roommate.

He placed an add in the local paper and simply waited for the applications to roll in. What he hadn’t expected was the sheer number of people that were willing to live with a man in his early forties in a neighborhood like this. It took him nearly a month to narrow it down to three candidates. Michael Siegbert was a surprising source of confidence for him. The old man seemed to have some sort of inside knowledge on nearly every candidate Leonard showed him, which was just another puzzle he needed to solve. Nobody could know that much on that many people without having some serious connection. It honestly made him wonder if he wasn’t the only high end criminal hiding out in the building…

*********

He couldn’t help but smirk as the kid opposite him fidgeted a little, twirling his thumbs while one of his feet tapped a soft rhythm on the floor. The younger man was nervous, good, that made it all the more easier to get him to talk. Find out what made the kid tick. Not that he hadn’t done his homework, oh no, he had. Thoroughly actually. The kid bit his lip and looked around the room, taking in the sparse furniture and decorations, no doubt. And no matter what the old man had told him, Len shouldn’t even be considering this kid as a potential candidate, with their differences in backgrounds it would never work out. And yet, the kid intrigued him, he had good credentials, an even better credit score and still, for some reason the kid wanted to live with a man nearly twice his age in a part of town that wasn’t exactly known for its great neighborhood. So why in hells name was the kid even here?

“Bartholomew Henry Allen. Twenty five years old, degrees in Chemistry, Biology and Physics. Says here you work for the CCPD as a forensic investigator. You have good credentials and an excellent credit score. So tell me what brings you here?”

“Well…” The kid stuttered, scratching the back of his neck before running a hand through his hair. Interesting that such a simple question could have such an impact on the kid. Intriguing.

“Well?”

“It’s like, you see I-.” The youngster sighed and chuckled, smiling at him so brightly that for a moment Len could swear the kid was going to spontaneously combust or something. “I just woke up after being in a coma for nine months. And considering my family canceled the rent on my previous apartment to cut down costs, I kinda need a new place to stay. Then I saw your add and your need for a roommate to help keep this place clean and share costs with, well, I figured why not.”

“Hmmm.” Len thought on that answer for a moment. It made sense, sort of. It didn’t answer his question completely but he had a better idea of Allen’s motives. “Still doesn’t answer why you want to live here in particular. Neighborhood can be rough, and we’re a good twenty blocks or so from the precinct you work at.”

“Because it’s quiet, well I mean, not literally but people don’t really bother one another around here. You’re left to your own devices and nobody will care when I get home at five am after a graveyard shift. You said in your add that you’d be out a lot yourself, and that you were basically just looking for someone to keep the apartment clean and stocked. I can do that.”

Perfect. Just as the old man had said. But he pretended to consider it for another minute or two. Seeing the kid squirm like that was far to amusing not to. The only problem was the kids profession, but Michael had given him an interesting theory about it as well, one that he could work to his advantage. The Santini’s weren’t completely stupid, and they wouldn’t just attack this place if a member of the CCPD resided here. The kid could become his perfect cover, if he played his cards right.

“I see…” He leaned back in his chair and nodded slowly before smiling at the young man on the other side of his desk. “I expect you to have your stuff moved in by monday. You’re free to decorate your bedroom however you like, if you want to make changes in the communal rooms talk to me first and we’ll work something out. Now, if you have no further questions I got a copy of the contract you should read through-”

“Wait-” The kid looked at him, his head slightly tilted to the side and his brows furrowed in confusion. “Does this mean the spot is mine? Are you-” The young man took a deep breath. “Are you actually accepting me as your roommate?”

The kid couldn’t be this slow, that Len knew for sure. But he could imagine this was a bit of a shock to the young man. It was so much fun though, to mess with young Mr. Allen. “Unless you’re no longer interested?”

“No!” It came out harder and more desperate than the kid intended, that much was clear. Still, it was hilarious to see the panicked brief look in the kid’s eyes. “No, I- I am still very much interested. I just- I need a moment to process this.” Allen chuckled and looked at him with a smile that could light up a room.

It stirred something in him, like a warm spark that slowly radiated outwards throughout his entire body. What the hell did that mean? Sure the kid was attractive, but that usually didn’t mean anything to him. So why did Mr. Allen stand out to him…

The chair on the opposite side of the desk slid back as Mr. Allen stood. Len had been so lost in thought he hadn’t even noticed it at first until the kid was standing with his hand held out towards him. He stood up and shook the kid’s hand politely, still a little distracted by the way the young man smiled at him. He really had to learn how to get a grip on that if he wanted this to succeed.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Smith. You won’t regret this, I promise.”

He couldn’t help it and he smiled a little in return. “Len.”

“What?” Mr. Allen looked at him as if he had misheard him.

“You can call me Len, Mr. Allen. If we are to live together, we might as well be on a first name basis.”

“In that case, it’s Barry.”

“Welcome to the neighborhood…, Barry.”


End file.
